1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not exclusively to cloud computing.
2. Description of the Background Art
Cloud computing allows a user to utilize services running on a remotely located computer rather than on the user's local computer. Typically, a cloud computer system includes one or more virtual machines running on a computer. A user may be allocated one of the virtual machines, which the user accesses over the Internet or another computer network. The user may run various applications on his virtual machine without having the same applications on his computer. Among its many advantages, cloud computing allows for ease of setup, expandability, and relatively low start up cost. It is thus no wonder that cloud computing services are commercially available from a growing number of companies, including Amazon Web Services™ and Rackspace US Inc.
The advantage of not having to set up a local infrastructure is also the main disadvantage of cloud computing. Because user data will be stored in the cloud rather than locally on the user's facilities, the user data is vulnerable to theft and other security issues. For example, the virtual machines may be stolen and run on another machine. Unless cloud providers implement a security solution that users can be comfortable with, users will be hesitant to store data in the cloud.